He rejected the Coalition's claim that the expected figures show their economic policies are working. Writing the Guardian, Ed Balls said:

Not only is it two years later than the Chancellor's original plan said, and three years after the US reached the same point, it's also the case that GDP per head won't recover to where it was for around another three years - in other words, a lost decade for living standards.
So while David Cameron and George Osborne complacently claim the economy is now fixed, most people are worse off.